PlayBox Delivers Third Playout for Eurochannel
PlayBox Technology has supplied and installed a DVB playout system for Eurochannel television, complementing the existing two systems that have now been in operation for up to three years with the broadcaster. The new installation provides a fully redundant remote system for Eurochannel’s main platform, for viewers in Europe and Africa.
The latest PlayBox Technology playout system includes two DVB channels, housed in a single 1RU server, each with +1 redundancy, and a DVB multiplexer. As with the previous two systems, the installation is at Intelsat’s facility in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and includes monitoring and support for the automated transfer of content, allowing the channels to be remotely operated from the Eurochannel HQ in Miami, Florida.
Eurochannel has now been using PlayBox Technology solutions for three years. Gustavo Vainstein, CEO, comments, “We had several choices and after analysing all the possible technology options, we decided that the PlayBox system was the most flexible and the perfect choice for our specific needs. Everything has been exactly as we expected and the servers proved to be very reliable, after the initial setup and onsite training that PlayBox Technology delivered. Most importantly for us, the PlayBox support team is always there to help us and to find creative technology solutions – even when the solutions are not easy to find.”
The first PlayBox deployment, completed March 2010 at the same location, included separate servers for two channels each with full backup. The channels are equipped with multilingual audio streams and DVB subtitles in five languages, delivered via a PlayBox DVB Subtitle Server. These allow viewers to select the high quality DVB subtitles in a choice of languages. The channel outputs are delivered to the satellite uplink for distribution to North America and Latin America.
In the following year PlayBox Technology completed its second Eurochannel installation, providing two IPTV channels for specific HD requirements. This was similar to the first installation but with subtitles embedded (open) in the video by a SubTitleBox module, a part of the PlayBox playout system. Again, the installation was designed to run as a fully independent, remotely controlled platform.
Eurochannel is a world television channel, dedicated to the promotion of European culture and lifestyle, delivering the most exciting and entertaining European content such as movies, series, music, documentaries, fashion events, arts programmes, etc. It covers Latin America, United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Angola, Mozambique, France, Poland, the Balkans, Portugal and Korea. The channel is now available to 15 million subscribers in 30 countries.